101 Ways to Kick a Puppy
by BoxOfPandora
Summary: Drama! Action! Adventure! One of Many! What should our Knight-Captain do when afflicted with a spirit-eater curse and ends up in the middle of nowhere? See inside!
1. Prologue

_P__rologue_

Dark clouds, covering the starless sky in the middle of the night...Calm silence, disturbed only by the seldom howls of the wolves outside the city gates... the wind, whispering around her and making her black cloak wave around in a very dramatic manner... surely the situation was very romantic, but Cayla didn't really care about the atmosphere that surrounded her. There were more important things like now – like her own life. And what an interesting life it was!

A town in the middle of nowhere? Check.

Graveyard? Check.

Midnight? Check.

Shovel? Check.

Pale moonlight and dark clothes? Check! It looked really gothic, thus she hated this, but when you go unburying corpses, you don't want the local citizens to see you. Even someone duller than her could see that the rashemi would not be exactly happy if they see you trying to scamper away with the spirit of their grandmother, who happens to be a telthor berserker.

Spirit eater curse? Check. With one of her boots propped up on a gravestone, Cayla sighed and sticked the shovel in the wet soil – the lack of the spirit eater curse...or gift, as the Many called it, would've been a rather disturbing thing right now. It actually grew on her after the first month she spent in Rashemen – the fact that you had the power over people's souls was rather...pleasurable. It made her feel so powerful, even... godlike! Except for the fact that she had to scavenge for spirits in the middle of a graveyard every night, that is. So where was she? Oh, yes...

Bloodthirsty homicidal undead construct with multiple personalities? Check. She wanted to take Gann with her tonight - at least she could have a normal _'I-hate-you-so-much'_ conversation with him, but his alibi had been _'Well I'm really sorry, but I'm having a bad hair day, if you know what I mean, so I can't help you right now. I don't want anyone to see me right now – my hair's a mess and that would ruin my reputation! And you know how much I care about my reputation blah blah blah blah'_ All of this whispered behind a locked door in the Sloop Inn... Well, the end of his speech wasn't quite like that, but Cayla preferred to think that all of his "Look how handsome I usually am" talks had the same ending. But...Gann having hair problems? His hair was always as perfect as the hair of a servant of Neverwinter she once knew...long, long ago. Her Gannayev-to-common dictionary translated for her that Gann was in fact lying - he had probably found a farmer's daughter with dreams unravished by him and he wanted to have his fun with her. _"And I hope that she's an ugly one!",_ her consciousness added with a streak of jealousy. So it was either the winged zealot of a cleric (who tried to give Cayla religious pamphlets whenever possible) or One of Many. And she'd take the Many over the zealot any day! Still, she wished that Safiya hadn't run away to some distant land in order to hide from the half-celestial and her Wall Speeches.

So, time to make some spirits angry!

.:Dark Mistress, why are you standing still with a blank expression on your face?:. asked the Many.

"Wha...? You ruined my dramatic reminiscences of the day, you dolt! Now give me that shovel and start helping me dig a grave, unless you want me to eat you too!" Cayla snarled back. Her choice of words wasn't good at all and she was sure that Gann would've been delighted by it if he could hear her right now.

.: As the Mistress wishes. Dark Mistress, would you mind if the Many join you in this feast:. humbly asked One of Many. This was getting very suspicious, she though – the Many were never meek and never called her 'Dark Mistress' before. Cayla really tried to make them do it, but alas, her persuasion skills were limited to _'Please?'_ and _'Pretty please with a spirit on top?' _–the charming smile did all the suasion needed when she was dealing with the living. But it seemed to have no effect on undead and because of that she had thought that she was stuck with "Master" for life...until now.

"Sure, whatever." Cayla mumbled as she started digging a fresh grave, the soil on it still soft... She was getting really hungry and there haven't been any spirits near the city for a long time, so she was forced to dig graves at night in order to satiate her hunger.

A spirit rose from its grave. Something in her chest stirred and before she knew she was feeding on a ghostly child, probably a girl-it was hard to tell because its body had been disfigured by scars. It had a scared expression on its face, teddy bear in one hand and a thumb in its mouth. Cayla sensed how the Many were smiling behind her back, the rustling of ghostly tentacles getting louder as if the creature was shaking.

.: No regrets, Dark One?:.

"What do you mean?" – she asked without even turning back to face One of Many.

.: The Many were just pointing out that the Mistress just fed on an innocent child. As far as the Many remember, that is considered a sin in most societies. :.

"She was already dead, you know." Cayla sighed.

.: So the Dark Mistress doesn't remember? You killed this girl last week. You thought it to be an uthraki, disguised in order to transfer your gift on itself. The Many still remember how you laughed triumphantly over its charred corpse. :. – One of Many was now chuckling and soon the air got filled with distant echoes of mad cackles and hysterical laughter.

"_That_ child?" Suddenly Cayla turned and faced the undead construct. "Well...I guess it was a real human girl after all." She tried to look indifferent and failed. _"Hey, I guess I have something humane in me after all..."_

"Uh...I remember it now – sitting on that mossy stone near the road, staring at the empty space that the sky is. If that is not suspicious, I don't know what is!" her voice got louder and more high-pitched than usual. "And you're right - I have no regrets." Suddenly, she sat on the nearest gravestone and threw the shovel away in one swift movement. "I'll do it again if I have to – I am more important than the simple peasants in this place. Right now I'm an endangered specie and that's what matters - there are a lot of peasants in this country and just one spirit eater, as you may know." Her elbow was now resting on her knee and her chin on the base of her palm.

.: Dark One, the Many truly admire your way of perceiving the situation:. She notices how the Many were getting closer and closer with every one of her nervous drawings of deep breath. She was panting – being forced to dig out a grave isn't that hard or tiring, but after each day the affliction was getting worse, the spirit hunger more restless and her body more and more exhausted after every night in the company of spirits. After all, Cayla wasn't some sort of muscled barbarian lass, but the most powerful spellcaster ever to be born. Or at least that's what she thought about herself – high self-esteem is a vital part of being a sorceress.

"Have you heard about personal space, One of Many? Stand back!"

.: We were promised to feed as well. And now the graveyard is silent because you already fed and the spirits are scared! So no soul would come to the Many:.

"And?" _'Well this is going to get awkward'_, she thought.

.: And we are hungry!:. The undead construct growled and got even closer.

"I see that. And your point is?" Being a sorcerer, she wasn't very bright and definitely not very wise. If she were, she would've immediately started casting a spell, while the Many weren't so near.

.: So the Many will feast on you, Dark One, if they don't get anything to feed on:. It howled and charged down upon her.

'_Oh great, now is the best time for his loyalty to start wavering!'_she thought and started casting a spell in order to protect herself. However, she couldn't concentrate as slimy tentacles and claws grasped at her feet and hands and her upper body got pinned to the gravestone she was sitting on before the sudden attack.

Wait, why wasn't it attacking? The sorceress saw in horror how her own shadow was now visible even though it was night – it was darker than the darkness around her even though the moonlight wasn't bright enough for that. She sensed how her own creation, a part of her, tried to take control of her mind, of her hunger...

One of Many was now even closer than Cayla though to be possible. The grotesque body pressed to hers stirred her hunger again and just as she was trying to let it loose and save herself from the unexpected assault, the Many embraced her and a wave of negative energy flooded through her body. Claws grappling the place where the shard used to be... _'It's not trying to eat my soul! It's trying to consume the hunger itself!'_-she panicked. The voices of the undead construct seemed a lot clearer now – not distant echoes, but one and many in the same time, as if she was in a crowd. And then everything went dark...well, darker and she fainted.

Everything around her was black. _'Maybe I'm supposed to open my eyes',_ Cayla thought and decided to do it. Bad idea!

The colors around her were painfully bright. Purple, pink orange, red, green...every color that could possibly exist was spinning around her, swirling in a maelstrom which made her eyes hurt, but she couldn't close them – her body felt limp and she had no control over it. The sorceress tried to get up but didn't succeed. Deja vu... the last time that happened, she ended up in a barrow with a creepy red wizard and a creepier bear king. The wizard ran away and the bear spirit she killed without mercy – she now thought this to be a big mistake.

"Uuuuh, where am I?" She groaned and tried to get up a second time, but her body refused to obey her.

"Well well, it seems that the new addition to the Many is a drama queen. Great." A dark brooding voice, filled with arrogance answered her from behind. "Nobody asks such a question when they wake up after fainting." Actually, it sounded bored to death too.

What happened? Someone was here with her? But then again, where was 'here' exactly? Her vision was getting clearer and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"Huh...Why am I floating around in mid-air?!" Cayla panicked and got up unbelievably fast. There wasn't any ground below her, neither was there a sky or anything else above and around her. Just glowing stars and dense darkness around her, some of the stars disturbingly close. "What... where... why?" She started to turn around in panic when she saw the owner of the voice.

It was a man, that's for sure. An extremely tall man having long ram-like horns above his head, a tail, long dark hair and wings red like blood. "You're a demon?" She started backing up with no avail other than falling down again.

"You should stop that", the man warned her with a wicked half-smile as if he was enjoying her illogical horror. "There is no such thing as space here. But if you're having fun with that, please continue – you have all the time in the world, after all." He got closer and helped her get up. "And no, I'm not a demon, I'm a half-demon – as you may see, these two things are a little different.", the tone of the man was now clearly showing how annoyed he was.

"Why am I here? What happened?" When she found out that the person with her was a demon...half-demon, she started raising her voice in panic, but now she was screaming. Funny thing – Cayla thought that she was one of the most powerful beings ever to walk on the face of Toril, but now she was so afraid of the unknown that she was feeling like a little girl.

"Once I had a little sister who asked a lot of needless questions. She stopped asking them right after I killed her... You remind me of her... just think about what you remember and you will get your answers." The half-fiend sighed and somehow managed to sit in mid-air.

'_Okay, concentrate. The Many attacked you, then what? What happened?' _Cayla remembered the sudden attack and then the nothingness...

"Ow! It hurts when I try to think!" She moaned and pressed one of her palms on her forehead. The man sighed and spoke with a slow, bored tune:

"Sit down and I'll answer your questions if you really wish to know all of that."

"Sit down?!" Still, she tried and to her amazement, succeeded. "You told me there is no such thing as space here!"

"Theoretically, yes. But if there were no space, how could you and me exist right now? We wouldn't even be flat, because flatness needs at least one dimension too. There is some sort of space inside the Many, but it couldn't and shouldn't be reduced to any limits – there is no space and there is endless space here in the same time. And it can be said that there is no such thing as real time here...ahem, this is if anything that exists or doesn't exist could be labeled as real or unreal. Because one thing can't be two opposites at the same time and if it actually is, then it doesn't really exist. Still, existence is ..." It seemed that his speech was going to be endless. It was even worse that Kaelyn's Wall talks!

"Just answers my questions, would you?"

"Okay, okay, calm down – I'll explain everything. We, and by "we" I mean the Many, tried to feed on you. But every creation is a slave of its master, so we couldn't really harm you if you didn't want us to. Thus we unified with you though your spirit hunger in order to get some of your power. Do you understand this?" he asked and she nodded. "Good! So you're a part of us now. Not physically, of course, because it's more of a soul link stronger than the one you had with us before." The man had a kind, but twisted smile on his face. "Go on, ask your questions." And now he got up and stood still, while looking around, as if he was expecting something to happen. The place really creeped her out, but this half-fiend was the worst part of the story – she didn't even know him and thus didn't know what to expect from him. Not to mention that his way of talking with long, unintelligible sentences was annoying as hell.

"So you're a part of the Many?" It was actually obvious as he said it numerous times, but Cayla had never been famous of her witticism or intelligence.

"I am. Not one of the dominating souls, but if you ask nicely the Child, I could gain control of the Many for a while - just ask for "The Other One"."

"Dominating souls?"

"The one in control of the body that Many inhabit is a dominating soul. The others just watch. But then again, the Many always watch on you, because we are a part of you and your mind."

"You WATCH me? All the time?! Even...while I'm taking showers?" Oh great, one crazed stalker in her life had been enough.

"Err...no?" Now he was obviously blushing. "We are not that twisted."

"So you're evil enough to kill hundreds of innocents, but not evil enough to watch me while I'm taking showers?"

"Yes!" he sighed with relief. "Now do you have other questions, spirit eater?"

"I guess I have lots of questions. Like how can I go back to the graveyard, am I really inside the Many, what's your name, why are you here...and other ones too..."

Questions rained down on the poor demonspawn, but he tried to answer to all of them with the stoic expression of someone who just doesn't care about anything at all. So he tried his best with them while the sorceress was watching the bored lashings of his tail dumbfounded.

"You can get out anytime you want – you are the Master of the Many and we obey to your commands...most of the time. And I have no use for names – they are for the living," he paused here and looked around nervously. "And I've been here since...well, forever. I got burned in the furnace for slaughtering my family and my neighbors a long time ago. Most of the Many have done something like that before they ended up here."

"No, don't get me wrong!" The fiend continued and his tail did one final, nervous lash in the air. - "I'm one of the few evil spirits that inhabit the Many. Most of us aren't really evil, unlike what you might think. But death, as the opposite of life, brings hatred like life brings love. A hatred so strong that it prevents any thought that one is supposed to have – the burning desire to bring death to those around you is what drives the undead, just like most of the living want to create life. The Child wasn't really evil, just unfortunate to do the right thing in the wrong time. It became malicious after it died – because few can resist the hate brought in the afterlife. So don't expect any thoughts from the Many. Only when we are in our own place here we can be what we really were when we were alive - the current dominating soul is not even supposed to be sane." Is his talk about death going to be endless, Cayla asker herself, but aloud she said:

"Your...own place?"

"Look around you. What do you see?" – the half-fiend waved a hand in the air in Cayla's general direction.

"Err...stars? Wait, those aren't stars...they're hollow orbs, aren't they?"

"Yes. Each of us has a place here. Some places are inhabited by more than one spirit, if that's what you're asking yourself now. Here...we have no contact with the horror that the undeath is – we are just dead. When one of us become the dominant personality, they unite with the undeath."

"I should introduce you to one of my friend, a cleric from the Seven Heavens. Just like you, she likes to give lengthy speeches about the misery that life is..." Now completely bored, Cayla stood up and saw how the demon spawn did the same. "Can I go home now? Pleeease?!"

"As you wish. I enjoyed your company, I really did. Being alone for a long time can make you enjoy any company..." He shook his head and started walking towards her, capturing a lock of her long, hazel hair in his fingers. "Just close your eyes and think about exiting the orb you're in...it should work, you are still alive and after all, you are the master of this place."

"Oh, and just one more thing," he continued. "I know that you don't think before speaking your mind out, but at least try to think before doing something, okay?"

And before she could answer, once again everything went dark.

_End of Prologue.__ The real story starts in Chapter I – this was more of a chapter that explains the whats and whys of my semi-AU story. Still, you're probably asking right now: why a demonspawn and not the Brute or the Child? In the beginning, when MotB was announced, the rumors were that OoM was going to be a half-demon. And I still want that half-fiend NPC!_

_In the next chapter you should e__xpect drama, action, romance and shirtless Gann! _


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter №1

A nervous voice carved its way to her unconscious mind.

"Cayla? Cayla? Are you okay?"

What did the demon tell her? To think before doing something? At least she could try it... The voice was most probably Gann's – nobody could mistake that smooth, feminine tone. If it really is Gann, she should probably push aside her instincts to strangle him with his _perfect_ hair and try to get some information from him. Then she could strangle him. So her hand found her way to his blue locks of magnificent hair, grabbed one and used it to stand up. Or at least to fleece some of his amazingly shining tufts out.

"Ow! Watch the hair!" he shrieked as he tried to get her fingers away from it. "And such gratitude to the one that saved you! I expected at least a kiss of thankfulness!"

"Dream on, blue boy." Blue, so much blue around her...Gann had only a pair of pants on him, but she tried to look in his...blueberry colored eyes and not somewhere else. "Now shut up and tell me what happened or I'm telling Magda about the hair-care products you're using. And you know that she's going to rumor it to every woman in Mulsantir!"

"No need to be so...offensive! But what do you want me to do first – shut up or tell you what happened?" Gann didn't wait for an answer. "The Dove – and not me, thank you very much – was worried about you when you didn't return from your adventurous raids of the graveyard. So she made me go and check on you. And what did I see?"

"I don't know, what did you see?"

"If you just let me finish... I saw you unconscious and that undead construct was standing right next to you, now visible, trying to...well I don't know what was it trying to do, but it looked dangerous. No doubt it had attacked you, so I chased him away and brought you to the Veil theatre."

"You...chased my puppy away?" her fist was trying to find its way to his oh-so-charming face, but she suppressed the urge in order to find out more about what happened. "Where?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Great!" Cayla tugged on his sea-colored locks and pulled his face towards her. "Now listen to me carefully and don't say another word: I'm going to find where the Many are and after I return, depending on the results I'm either going to shave you or kill you. Got it!?"

The hagspawn nodded and she pushed him away, running towards the door.

"Eh...you might want to put some clothes on that gorgeous body of yours, oh great and powerful leader..."

"What did I say about talking?" she turned around to face him, but realized she was wearing nothing but a nightgown. "And if you've tried something while I was unconscious..."

"Ah, what gave you that idea?" He was making fun of her! "Our heavenly songbird insisted that we get you out of those ruined clothes of yours." After she had found the Many, she would find the spell that thayan wizards use to keep themselves bald. But first, she needed a change of clothing...

The graveyard had been empty. The sun had already risen so One of Many should be in some place dark, filled with death and evil...that leaved most of Mulsantir out and she couldn't open a portal to the Shadow Mulsantir during the day. Was there such thing as an Undercity here? Neverwinter had it – the endless sewers which were inhabited by thieves and smugglers were always dark except for the torchlight. Some said that there were even catacombs under Neverwinter itself – remnants of another city, part of an ancient empire that got destroyed a long time ago. Time to ask some questions! And Cayla knew exactly where she should ask them.

The temple of Kelemvor was in the northern part of Mulsantir, right next to the lodge of the berserkers. No wonder – incidents happened to the ones new in berserking every day and all of the barbarians needed minor or major healing, even sometimes someone to stand near them in their last seconds. When Safiya had been around she told her that the berserker lodge needed a "Kids, don't do this at home" sign above the main door and Cayla was beginning to think that the wizard had been right.

She jumped over that pesky badger, pushed the berserker guards away and tumbled over the stairs leading into the temple. Surprisingly, it seemed that the priest had been expecting her visit. It wasn't even Davorik, but another cleric of Kelemvor – fat and short, with a thick, long beard that covered almost all of his face.

"Speak, my child. What are you searching for?" But then again, maybe he used those words on all of those who entered the temple. In order to be here, you must be seeking something – nobody goes into Kelemvor's vault just to have a chat with those nice priests.

"I'm looking for a friend..." she mumbled.

"You should know that," chills went through her spine when he used that word - a long time ago she had developed a 'know that' phobia. "the temple no longer summons spirits on request, no matter the prize. If you wish to speak with the dead, find yourself a necromancer...child."

"No, don't get me wrong! I just want to ask a question or two! Wait...why were you forbidden to summon ghosts? Did your god deny you that?

"If you must _know_, it was after an incident we had a long time ago. So we no longer accept summoning the powers of the unknown, and most importantly, those charming ghostly ladies in revealing nightgowns, pale skin, dark makeup and giant..." Cayla saw how flushed was his face now. "But that was not the answer you were seeking, correct?"

"No, it wasn't. I want to know if there are any catacombs below the city."

"Why would a girl like you need access to the catacombs?" So there actually was a city below the city! "Are you trying to make pacts with the ghost and spirits there? You must _know that _if you're searching for pleasures," he was starting to flush again "forbidden to the living, we must deny you access to the tombs below the temple!"

She was about to say 'no' when something inside her stirred. Not the huger, definitely – she had fed a few hours ago. What then?"

'_Your conscience."_ – it would've been better if the voice inside her head was hers, but words usually have a specific tune only when they're being spoken.

'_I have one? Wow, I never thought that I have such a thing.'_First she got an ancient curse inflicted upon herself and now she was turning crazy!

'_Well guess again. And think you answer that question: it's tricky. __You're searching for the Many inside the catacombs. Ask yourself: what are the Many to you and why are you searching for them?'_

'_A big, cuddly puppy!_' What kind of question was that? One of Many was her faithful servant and her friend ever since she created him. He was her pet whom she had to feed and take care of. And like every irresponsible child, she lost him.

'_Oooh, you're starting to think of ' it' as a 'him'. Doesn't that give you clue?'_

'_A clue about what?' _Here her 'conscience' sighed. Or maybe Cayla was imagining all of this and she didn't have such a thing at all – she hoped it was the second one.

'_You're just clueless. I'm going to sit back and enjoy, then. Have fun with the Many!'_

"Miss, why are you staring at the ceiling?" asked the priest with concern in his voice. "So are you searching for pleasures with the dead that are forbidden with the living or not?"

"Err...no?"

"How can I _know that_ you are not lying?" Well it was time for that seductive smile. As a sorceress Cayla was extremely charming and she needed only a single smile to get what she wanted – what she lacked in brains she compensated with beauty and style.

"I'm not, trust me," she smiled and took a step closer to the cleric. "I'm just looking for my friend and I really need to get down there. So please, tell me how can I get there."

"I...uh...well..." the priest was blushing again and his forehead was getting damp with sweat. "Basement... first door to the right...here is the key..."

"Thanks, mister priest. I'll see you later!" She took the key in one swift movement and ran to the stairs leading below ground level.

And then...and then what? Get lost in the catacombs while she was searching for One of Many? How would she return if she finds him...it? And what's going to happen if she actually finds him? Unfortunately for her, she wasn't smart enough even to try thinking about the consequences of her actions. So he ventured forth into the darkness of the ancient tombs and never wondered if she's going to get out.

"Hello? Anybody there?" Cayla didn't hope for an answer - it would've been creepy. Getting deeper and deeper into the tombs definitely wasn't a good idea. She was roving inside for the last couple of hours and still no result except for getting lost, because there were always twists and turns, leading to rooms that all looked the same – sarcophaguses, skeletons, statues, spider webs, more sarcophaguses, skeletons and so on. She would've gotten out of the catacombs if she knew how. And now the only thing she could do was panic.

'_Mistress?' _The Many? So she'd found them after all? _'We truly admire your concern and lack of intelligent thoughts right now, but it would be best if you just cast a spell to teleport yourself out.'_

'Where are you?'

'_Currently behind __you. We've been behind you for the last seven floors, Mistress.'_

"But...why?"

'_The Many wanted to see if you will give up on your chase and realize you can call us any time you want."_

"I can? No, don't answer that. So...it seems that I've found you and its time to get out of here! But I why did you attack me and then return to me?"

'_We...reconsidered. We want a reconcilement with you, Dark Mistress – we are your slave and even when we do not obey you, we are a part of you. Thus we cannot escape from wrath even if we try.'_

"Okay then, One of Many - I forgive you." Who can be mad at a cute little undead puppy like the Many? "What were you saying about a teleportation spell?"

"_Mistress, as far as the Many know, you know such a spell. But our advice is that you do not teleport yourself out right now. We sense a disturbance in the energy on the level below. Perhaps a portal."_

"You want me to check on that?"

'_No.'_

"Really?"

'_No.'_

"Okay, I'm going to check it out. But first..." what was that name again? "I want you to give the control of the Many to the Other One."

'_As the mistress wishes'_ the creature mumbled. For a second his...its stare got muddled and then...

'_Oh, its you.'_ Yep, definitely the demon-spawn she met earlier.

"You missed a "mistress" there."

'_If you expect me to "mistress" you, you can just summon the Child again. Unlike the others, I still have some pride left.'_

"Sure thing, One."

'_How did you call me?'_

"One. You don't act as a part of the Many, so I find the name suiting for you."

'_Whatever. Lets...just go.'_

Cayla didn't realize they were walking. Before she knew it, they were on the last floor of the tombs – it was just a small room with a decorative archway in it. As far as she knew, that was most probably a portal of some sort. It reminded her of the ones she saw in the Arvahn ruins, but the glow those portals had was duller here – she could still see the wall behind the arch.

"Should we..."

'_You do not even know where it leads to.'_The One sighed and pointed a tentacle at the sign above the archway.

"It's too far away for me to read it. Wait... I think it says 'Limbo! We par-tay all night and rock'n'roll all day!' So it must be some sort of tavern or an inn. I could use some rest. But then again, I need some spirits to eat... What do you say?" Cayla swayed her body and smiled at him and she didn't even wonder why she was doing it.

'_I see no reason to do it. And I don't see a reason why not to do it.'_

"Well that was helpful."

'_The decision is all yours, great and almighty __**Mistress**__.'_ One could cut the irony with a knife, but she still didn't get it.

"Alright... to the portal, puppy!" she smiled at him as she jumped inside.

'_How did you...?'_ The undead just sighed and walked into the portal and even the way he was walking showed how dreadfully bored he was. After all, he didn't care about dying – he was already dead.

Dark, endless corridors and walking hours on end without knowing where was she going – this must've been her birthday. And One of Many...if she didn't know he was dead, she would've sworn that she felt his breath in her neck. He was painfully close and as they walked in the darkness, the silence was getting more awkward with each second. So...time to find out some more about him!

"So...uh...you're undead?"

'_Yes.'_

'What's your favorite color?'

'_Red.'_

"Why?"

'_It reminds me of blood.'_

"How are you feeling?"

'_Dead. And I want to kill something.'_

"How many tentacles do you have?"

'_Lots.'_

"Do you know where we are?"

'_Yes.'_

"Are you being honest?"

'_No.'_

"Do you..." she couldn't finish as he swirled a tentacle in her general direction.

'_Don't your questions ever stop? And I'm going to give you something to think about – there is a light in the end of the corridor. It's just like the light in the end of the tunnel, so you might have died and now it's curtains for you. Think about it.'_

"Very funny, puppy."

'_You finally seem to have understood the sarcasm I'm using on you__. You must be truly dead, for you couldn't do that in the world of the living.'_

"Hey, I can see something in the light!" she decided to completely ignore his previous sentence, grabbed one of his claws and started dragging him towards the black spot in the light. The closer they were getting, the more she could see its features - a human-like body shape, greenish skin, a long cape, a veil and... oh no!

"Ya should like know that you must pay before entering Limbo!"

Shivers...they were chasing down her spine, making her hands tremble and her heart to beat faster than she thought to be possible. So they really were in Limbo, the chaotic plane of the githzerai – Cayla expected the portal to lead them to some sort of pub or tavern with a weird name, but it actually was filled with those weird green people...and there were so many buildings around... Everything around them was changing shape rapidly and they could barely pass around the place. The statues, houses and even the plants were changing their location for mere seconds and then in their place were new building and streets. What was worse was that so did the people... And why did the one that guided them though it looked like a githzerai she used to know?

"Err...miss githzerai...what is your name and why are you helping us find our way out? Where are we going?"

'_Well that's blatantly obvious. You could've at least tried to make it sound more subtle.'_ She heard the voice of One of Many in her head. It was a welcomed distraction from the horror that the 'know that's brought her.

"Ya should like _know that',_ the sorceress shivered again 'my name is Shave and all who enter this place must get to see its beauty. We are going to the spoon museum!"

"Shave, huh... can you tell me why was there a portal in the middle of an ancient catacomb?"

'_What did I say about subtlety?'_ , roared a voice in her head.

"Ya should like know how much the kiddies love the souvenirs inside – we bring them there to get a bone or two as a toy, maybe like a few coins and so on." – the gith smiled at her general direction and Cayla could see her sharp teeth. Did Zhjaeve have teeth like that?

"Shave...I have a question that may seem weird, but... do you happen to know a person by the name of Zhjaeve?" The green woman gasped and suddenly turned around.

"Ya should like know that Zhjaeve is my older half-sister. An ya should like know that if you want to see her, I can bring you to the discotheque." Zhjaeve was here...? But Cayla saw how the rocks fell on her and how they sealed the gith out of the others...

"Half-sister?"

"Ya should like know that my pa' was a gothzerai and they are waaay cooler that the normal githzerai."

"I...see. Yes, I want to see her. Show me the way to her."

Then suddenly the shapes around her blurred and all Cayla could do was shield her chest with her hands before falling down...to the solid ground below her. The music around her was loud, psychotic and most of all, it made her want to move her body around. She could feel the presence of the Many near her – they seemed to be protecting her form the crowd around her.

"Ya should like know that here in Limbo we can change our location on thought. Ya should like know that I wanted to spare you that when you arrived 'cause the side effects on those who aren't used to that could be like dreadful."

'_And then she just decides to use it just like that, without even giving it a thought. Stupid creature... she reminds me of you.'_

'Thank you very much, One. I like you too.', the sorceress thought – she knew that he could hear what she was thinking. Suddenly a shape darker than the ones around her founds its way to her and gave her shivers...again...

"Kalach-cha! _Know that_ you have found me!"

Nonononono! When she thought about visiting the githzerai, she didn't think about what will happen when they meet. Happy place, go to your happy place!

"_Know that_ now we have united here and you are armed with your fury and your silver sword, we can save the world from its horrors and party till we drop unconscious!"

"Huh? Did you just say..."

"Know that I said that we should party and celebrate our victory over the King of Shadows! Know that you probably think the name of this place has no meaning! But is has been named after our favorite dance, because we githzerai love dancing. Know that you should rock your body and sing with us – tomorrow is a new day of bright sunshine and the threat of the shadow is no longer here!"

"So you just stayed here and expected me to find you?"

"Know that you are correct. Know that you should smile and sing with me! _Know that the Kalach-cha's in the the cradle and the silver swooord, little boy blue and the man on the Waaall, na-na-na-naah!_' Zhjaeve started humming with her deep, manly voice._ "_Know that you should sing with me, Kalach-cha!"

"Zhjaeve, I'm just going to back away from you slowly and then run, screaming for my mommy..."

"Know that I do not know what scares you. Know that I have just realized that you've forgotten my manners! Let me introduce you to my friends! Know that this one is Zahjeve, and this one is Zhjave and this is Zhjae and this one is Zijaheve and this is Zhjaivy. They are my closest of family!"

"Know that we greet you, Kalach-cha", said the green people in unison.

'This is HELL!' Cayla thought.

'_Or heaven'_.

'What do you mean?"

'_I'm just saying that you need to unleash that anger in you. You haven't fed in hours, you must be starving for spirits, if you know what I'm trying to say.'_

"Are you trying to tell me that I should kill them?!" She didn't realize she spoke this out loud. Suddenly, all of the githzerai were staring in her, backing away...

"Kalach-cha, know that I have no idea who are you talking to."

"Oh, I forgot. Zhjaeve, this is my puppy – One of Many." Zhjaeve stared into the nothingness where the Many were – Cayla often forgot that only she could see him.

"Know that I greet you, Kalach-cha's imaginary friend." The green woman waved a hand.

'_Kill her!'_

'But she's my...my...well I don't know what is she, but I can't kill her just like that!'

'_Why? You've killed all of those other people who had their own lives and family just like her.__ What makes her different?'_

'Well...she has a name...and...'

'_So did they.'_

"I see your point. I must confess... you're probably right – there's nothing I would enjoy right now than ripping her spine though her nose."

'_Then do it!'_

She obeyed.

Half an hour later, with a bloodied sword and having little to no spells left, Cayla walked outside the portal with a satisfied grin on her face.

'Than was fun! There is nothing better than killing Zhjaeve in the morning!"

'_Aside from killing her, then resurrecting her and then killing her again?'_

'Oh man, why didn't I take the Dove with me?' Cayla frowned. 'Don't answer that, you're just going to make it worse. So, is it time to get out of here and return to the Veil?'

'_I don't care – it's your choice.'_

While she was casting her teleportation spell, Cayla didn't even think about what she had done earlier – killing dozens of innocents now didn't seem to bother her at all. It actually felt refreshing – letting go of the anger and satiating the hunger once more on those pitiful giths. But where was that way of thinking going to get her? Was she proud of what she did?

Then the place where the sorceress and her friend had been standing was empty and streaks of blood flowed though the portal where her feet had been. Best. Portal. Ever!


	3. Chapter 2

In the beginning, there was Akachi. It wasn't the best beginning there could be and it didn't promise a good start, but it was a beginning non the less. She herself was a way of perceiving the world, thus she was the world – the alpha and omega of all things that exist. So her world started with Akachi and the gift he brought was spirit-eating. And before that there was nothing – her life before the gift had been a lie, a game of thoughts that had fooled her to believe it actually existed. If sounded quite implausible – who in their right mind could believe that a freakish elven stalker, obsessed with seeing you bathe and a ranger who could cast spells without even having a deity could exist in real life? So her life, her world and not the illusion she until recently had thought to be a part of her, had so far been great. It was a miracle that such small things managed to make it a misery.

"Hey, puppy?" – Cayla asked and looked around to see if One of Many was close.

.: Yes:.

"I remember us staying at the Veil theatre. Why isn't there anyone here now?"

.: I don't know. But I don't sense their presence either. Perhaps it will be best if you ask someone. :.

"Like...who? There isn't anyone here at all."

.: Look around, search for clues. If you happen to find something hostile, please do tell me – I still want to kill something. :.

Search for clues...easier said than done. Everything in the Veil was as normal, everything was located where it should be, but something was missing. Perhaps the actors had gone on a tour or a picnic... Magda said something like that last week. Suddenly, two palms covered her eyes and a smooth, melodic voice asked her:

"Guess who!"

Unfortunately for the voice, it was Gann's. So she kicked him where it hurts the most and turned around.

"WHAT did I tell you about touching me!?" she roared in anger, seeing him coiling in pain. "My day has so far been great – I've killed a...well, non-existent ghost from my past and met a new personality of my pet...and you touch me and ruin it! Now I probably have Gann-germs!"

And then heavenly music started to fly in the air. Cayla sighed – this was getting worse with every second. The Dove waltzed thought the door, full of confidence and baffling naivety.

"Have no fear, Gannayev, I will tend your wounds for Ilmater has given me the strength to heal and help those in danger. No evil will be unpunished, no pain will stay untended, because in Ilmater..." and so on, and so on. Cayla didn't remember the Dove casting any spell before reading a long speech about the nature of her magic powers and then a three-hour long prayer to Ilmater and long before she had finished, the victim was either dead or unconscious.

"_...ka-ehl miah-vai zinobial... _"

.:She doesn't even know how her prayers translate, doesn't she:.

'_What do you mean?'_

.: Her prayers are in my native language. In a nutshell, most of them are "I can has healing spell, plz" and then it's said how great Ilmater is and how big and heavy are his...chains. Some of them have a nice little interlude, like "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts"- like what she said just now - or "Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum" or something like that... and then in goes the divine power and she casts the spell. Naïve creature...can I kill her:.

'Wait, are you saying that most of her prayers consist of nothing but...nonsense?'

.: That's if you can't see the sense in "Bluddle-Uddle-Um-Dum". It's not so bad – some of the tyrran spells make joke of Tyr's missing limbs and the Helm ones are about what does he do during the vigils, if you get what I'm saying. :.

'What does he do during the vigils?'

.: Rumor says he has fun with maidens and lots of wine. But say this to a cleric of Helm and...well, say this to a cleric of Helm and see what happens. :.

'And...my spells...please tell me I'm not running around, screaming "I have a lovely bunch of coconuts"!'

.:Trust me, you don't want to know how yours translate. You'll give up sorcery. :.

After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, she mumbled:

'Okay, maybe I don't want to know that...'

.: Now can I please kill the cleric or the shaman:.

'Not today, puppy. Another time, they're still useful.' And with that, she walked out of that door, stepping over Gann's body which was still curled up in a fetal position. Some day, she would let the Many feed on them, but not until she finds their suitable replacements.

--------------------

"Cayla, are you here?" Kaelyn asked loudly, while entering the sorceress' room.

"I am. And no need to apologize for waking me up, it is perfectly normal for you to do it." Cayla mumbled, pushing the blankets away and sitting up in bed.

"We have found a map to the Sunken City of the Coven. There you may find your answers and we may finally lead the Crusade against the injustice that the Wall is."

"Err...great?"

"And I have finally healed Gann. But tell me, what did you do to him that he fainted?"

"I kicked him between the legs." She smirked. That one got a blank stare from Kaelyn.

"Pardon? I've been wounded there, but it doesn't hurt so much as to make one lose consciousness."

"Eh...eh-heh... Kaelyn, you see, men...um...have different lower body than us, women."

"Why?"

She was supposed to give the 'bees and flowers' speech to one of the most powerful clerics in the realm who just happens to be an adult?

"You know, it's hard to explain. And if the only real friend I've got weren't an undead construct, I would've gladly demonstrated the "why" and "how"...

.: That still doesn't stop you. :.

'What do you mean, One?'

.: Nevermind. :. He sighed and continued sulking in the corner of the room.

"Cayla, please. I am always eager to learn new things."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, of course. It is my duty as a cleric of Ilmater to learn new ways to help people."

"That doesn't count exactly as help, but okay... here goes." She took a deep breath and backed away from Kaelyn. Just in case.

_A couple of hours later..._

"Oh, brave and dashing leader, we are ready to leave. Though it may be wise if we leave the songbird have some well-deserved rest. You know, just the two of us and the wilderness of Rashemen." Gann's melodic voice woke her up...again. This time she threw the blankets in his general direction and jumped from the bed, passing from sleep to being hyper without a middle state.

"You can keep dreaming, Gann. Kaelyn will come with us and so will One of Many."

"Ah...and here you are mistaken. The Dove seems to be...handicapped at the moment. She's sitting in the corner of her room, hugging her knees and staring into the empty space, mumbling nonsense."

.:You didn't expect that, did you? Stupid girl.:.

'Yeah, I care about you too, puppy.' But aloud she said:

"We're going to take her with us, like it or not. I don't feel like dying in the middle of nowhere with nobody to resurrect me."

"It's your choice, my sweetheart. I will inform her of your decision so we may make haste."

And so he exited the room and left her to wonder about the consequences of her actions.

-------------------------

Actually, the Skein wasn't so bad as long as Gann kept his mouth shut. And he didn't, most of the time. When she was young, Daeghun once brought her a wooden puzzle – she played with it all day until the few brain cells she had started to itch. It didn't matter that she had no success with the puzzle – it was the intention that was important then. And now the Skein reminded her of a giant version of that puzzle and thus she knew that they weren't going to get out of it. Being lost wasn't as fun as it was the last time and all of the corridors and archways looked alike.

Kaelyn was walking as if she were in a dreamscape, mumbling quiet and staring at the floor. The only sentence Cayla managed to distinguish was "This isn't what my mother told me", so most probably it was the "when two people..." speech that shocked her so much.

.:Well what did you expect? People don't usually go insane because they don't like the weather or the humidity of the air. :.

'I didn't realize...I didn't want...'

.:What do you care about her anyway? She's just another tool, another toy and one day when you don't need her, you can dispose of her permanently. I wonder...will she taste as good as her siblings did...:.

'You...killed Efrem and Suzah?'

.:Not me, the Child. The Many. We're evil, what did you expect? The Many cornered them in a dark alley and fed on them. Next time you don't want me to kill someone, please inform me on time. :.

'I guess it's okay...As you said, I had no use of them anyway...'

.:Now you're talking! A little more time with me and maybe you will get smarter too. :.

"Oh beautiful, we seem to have come to a dead end." Gann nearly sang and pointed ahead. There was another stream of water and a waterfall over one of the broken archways. It was common in the Skein to see such things but there was no need for the heroes to cross one of them...until now.

"Why? It's just a small stream, we can cross it."

"Do you know how deep it is?"

"Yes, I can see the bottom! Look, I'm on the other side now! I'm jumping around from side to side, nothing dangerous here. See? See?!"

"Oh glorious leader, I am afraid that something terrible will happen if I cross this horrible stream. It isn't supposed to be crossed at all!"

"Come here, you big baby!" – she yelled from the other side of the stream, but the rippling of the artificial waterfall dulled the sounds.

"I refuse to follow you! Do you know how dangerous it may be? First of all, the waterfall may ruin my hair and my clothes and what will happen if I get dandruff because of that, huh? Not to mention that our celestial songbird refuses to cross it too and I can't just drag her across it even if I want to."

"Fine! Do what you want!"

"Of course I will! And then my hair will stay perfect and my clothes will stay dry! And I will get no dandruff and..." and so on and so on...

Cayla's reply was interrupted by One of Many – she could sense how angry he had become and now she saw him getting closer and closer to Gann without the hagspawn noticing him. Soon he was in front of the dreamwalker, tentacles rising in the air...

And then he headbutted the shaman.

All the sorceress could do was watch how Gann's limp body fell in the stream of water and then almost got dragged across it - she knew how angry he would be after he wakes up. And that made her extremely happy. After jumping though the stream, she stepped on Gann's body and hugged her undead pet. It wasn't the reaction he had been expecting from her, but escaping for her arms was nearly impossible so he just stayed still and cautiously tried to find his way out of this in case she decided that hugging is not enough to show how grateful she is.

Unfortunately those thoughts had been crossing her mind too. She turned to kiss his cheek...if he had one and she really would've done it if he didn't turn his head to face her in the same time.

Gannayev's unconscious body had been lying in the water for a while now and Kaelyn was silently watching all of this with a mad glint in her eye. And Cayla screamed.

_Author's Note: Don't you just hate it when you're in the Skein and the PC refuses to cross shallow streams of water that a normal person could jump across?_


	4. Chapter 3

_After reading other fics in the NWN2 section, I've realized that I've missed to say several things._

_First, it seems that I have to dedicate this fic to somebody. So I'm going to dedicate it to myself, because I've always been here for me when I was in need._

_Second, I need to thank someone. I'm going to thank the person who invented coffee, because without certain amounts of caffeine this fic wouldn't have come to existence._

_Third, I must say that English is not my native language, so have pity on me._

_Fourth, I DON'T OWN NWN2. If I did, there would've been a Sand-romance and a demonspawn NPC. _

_Now here's the next chapter._

It wasn't particularly unpleasant, but it wasn't very enjoyable either. It was surprising that he actually had a mouth under that hood, but soon she realized that the mouth was ethereal as well as the rest of his body. It wasn't like kissing the thin air, more like having a fistful of ghostly fudge in your mouth that blocked every source of air. So she started choking and her lungs burning for air until she managed to get free from his grasp for a couple of seconds. Too late. The incorporeal tentacles had already gotten good a grip on her arms and legs, pulling her closer and closer. So she screamed and he let her go reluctantly.

.:All you had to do is say that you didn't want that. I'm supposed to obey you.:., the whisper drifter though her head giving out how annoyed One of Many was from the turn of events.

'Yeah...sure...' she thought while still panting for breath, arms on her knees and hair covering her eyes. 'Lets just go and never speak of that again, alright?'

.: As you wish. I'm not allowed free will, remember, _Mistress_:. He added with a bitter tone to his voice and swept himself away from her, dragging Gann across the stream of water.

The rest of the time they spent in the Skein was a bit hazy in her memory. Cayla remembered that they fought Gulk'Aush...somehow. And then the hag told them she was Gann's mother and gave them the power to haunt dreams...and then the Many urged the sorceress to kill the annis and so she did... "The voices told me to do it" was her later explanation to Gann who was still shocked from what happened. Strangely, the shaman wasn't complaining about what happened in the Skein, perhaps he was happy that his mother had finally gotten some rest from the insanity, never mind what kind of rest that was. Then there was that door and they were somehow inside the Coveya Kurg'annis again.

She saw the Mistress in front of the door leading to the Coven, sitting next to an old broken table and next to her were corpses. Cayla had seen some of them when she was still waiting for her turn to see the hags – the genasi prince and his servants, one of the uthraki and the illithid. She gave Gann and Kaelyn a sign not to move – she was curious what was the green woman doing. The voice of the Mistress echoed along the stone corridor, giving the impression that the owner of the voice was everywhere at once.

"Would mister Schnuggums care for some more tea? Yes? No?" The body of the prince gave no sign so she assumed that he would like that.

"Yes, yes, here is some tea for you." The blood-red liquid that got poured in the ancient porcelain cup looked like blood but Cayla preferred to think that it was actually real tea. Raising an eyebrow, she reached for her sword but got interrupted by One of Many's voice.

.: Just one question. How do you think the Coven gets any tea at all? It's not like you could keep the teabags dry underwater. :.

'And you're trying to say that...?'

.:Forget about it. Just kill her so we can get to the Coven. :.

'Of course, but why is she acting like that?'

.: This place is where the dream-invading hags live. Everyone here is afflicted by that and everybody is between dreams and reality. Do you think one can stay sane for a long time if living in such an atmosphere?:.

"You're saying that she's insane?" she accidentally whispered that instead of thinking it. The Mistress must've heard her, because she turned around, her body bend to the front and her teeth glistening under the dull light. With a mad twinkle in her eyes she ran towards them, her claws waving madly in the air. Gann needed only one spell to get her unconscious and thus giving Cayla the opportunity to feed on her without getting herself in real danger.

The Coven was inside an octagonal room, all of them floating in mid-air as if gravity here was non-existant.

'Is that some sort of levitation spell they're using?' she whispered to the Many.

.:No, they don't need a spell for that. This world is their dream, their nightmare. They're dreaming about reality and thus they can manipulate it. Either they're awake and we're asleep or vice versa. :.

Cayla had no idea what "vice versa" mean, so she just got closer to the group of annis hags and shouted:

"Yoo-hoo, are you there? I need to ask you some questions! Can you hear me?" – she started waving a hand in front of one of the hag's face.

.:Well that'd make them answer you for sure. But I am eager to exercise my new power to haunt dreams. Let us invade their shared dream and kill them there. :.

'As you wish. I only want this to end so I can get some sleep in a normal bed. And a glass of hot coffee too...'

So she tried to enter their dreams. At first it was easy, like diving in cold water but then she was grabbed by an unseen force...shaken violently...and then the ground beneath her started to twist and turn and she everything went black. Worst special power ever!

-----------

It was the same room, that's for sure. But now the Coven was gone and she was all alone.

"Guess again." A deeply annoyed voice boomed behind her.

"You? But...why?" The half-demon was standing near her, one clawed hand on her shoulder and the other on his waist.

"Well this is a dream. I can be whatever I want here, cause I know how dreams work. You don't, so you're stuck like that." He grinned.

"But what about the Many?"

"Oh, they're still here. But I'm the dominant one now, so I can change the incorporeal body to fit what the shape I had back when I was alive."

"Good." That was all she said. And then she kissed him. He didn't back from her, he didn't push her away. If she had the ability to think about the future, she would've been surprised.

"I've wanted to do this for a long time." Cayla smiled innocently and when one of his hands got a hold of her palm she just tried to be closer to him. She didn't even realize that he was forced to do this – she was the mistress and he the slave of her thoughts and desires. If she wanted something, the Many were supposed to give it to her and this was they way things should be.

He didn't have any feelings at all. He couldn't feel the wind, for example – not even in this shape and not because it was imaginary, but because he wasn't alive anymore. Being in a dream didn't help – the resemblance to real life was overwhelming so he had to obey to whatever laws the universe had. He didn't feel the kiss either and all he knew was that he was supposed to do whatever Cayla wished from him to do. So the demonspawn kissed back and after that he tried to do whatever he was expected to do.

---------------------

When the sorceress entered the portal she expected to see the Coven standing in front of her, maybe having a tea party, dancing limbo, playing poker of something like that. Alas, things that were vitally important for her were never easy. She was in the Veil now and had the feeling that something's not right.

"Oh man, I really wanted to speak with the Coven. At least I can get some sleep now and I'll go to the Sunken city again next week." She grumbled and moved towards the door of her bedroom.

"You're one in a million and I'm glad about that. If there were more people like you, Faerun would still be in the Stone Age."

"What do you mean?"

"Well you know that we're in the Coven's dreams, don't you?"

"We are?"

"Why do you think I'm in my half-demon form?"

"Err...I don't know. I haven't given it much thought."

"And where do you think are Gann and the Dove?"

"I don't know. Where are they?"

"And you still think we're in the Veil?"

"Yes." He was about to reply to that but Magda the dwarf burst into the room, a script to a play in one of her hands and the other forming a fist.

"Here you are! I've been searching everywhere for you! Get on stage, the audience is waiting!" she yelled at Cayla, pretending that she hadn't noticed the demon.

"Audience? What audience?"

"The audience for the play, of course? Are you feeling alright?"

"This dream doesn't make sense. Lets just kill them and finish with this so you can find the Coven."

"Oh...alright then." She nodded while casting a powerful spell. The actors and the audience never stood a chance against her and were dead in seconds. She heard how a portal opened in the back of the room, so she stepped victoriously(or rather oblivious to what she had done) over their bodies, still holding the demonspawn's hand in her own.

--------------

Fooling the bard was very easy. She just gave him imaginary gold and he left the room, leaving an open portal behind him. Dealing with the wizard was even easier – it seems that the baatezu was a distant uncle of her puppy, so they jus released him from his prison and the wizard was doomed – she had always liked happy endings, so that left a bitter taste in her mouth for a while, but after that she just forgot about what happened.

And then...

"Didn't I kill you?"

"You did" Bishop sneered. "I'm dead, you fickle swamp wench."

"This is the Wall of the faithless or at least a projection of it though the dreams of the Coven.", whispered the half-demon in her ear, one hand holding her fingers and the other on her neck. His claws tickled her and she giggled, but Bishop mistook that for making fun of his end.

"Laugh all you want. You're going to follow me here too, unless there is a god of stupidity you can worship. And who is this one, your new pet? Did you seduce this one with your looks before he can realize you have a deficiency of brain cells?"

"Actually, I'm not sure."

"And what does he have that I don't? Or, as a matter of fact, what does he have that _the paladin_ doesn't have?" The odd tune in his voice made Cayla reminiscent of their times together. She had always abused him in any way possible and he didn't cease his flirts...he acted the same way Gannayev did – following her even though she made fun of him. And it was always "the paladin this" and "the paladin that", making her wonder if there was something more that pure rivalry between Casavir and him.

"Horns." The ranger glared at her with a murderous glint in his eye.

"Err...and a tail..." she was blushing so much that her face looked like an apple. And a pretty apple non the less.

_Glare._

"...and wings...

_Glare._

"...and claws..."

"And tentacles, though they're not visible now." The half-demon grinned in Bishop's general direction.

"Are you telling me that if I had tentacles, you would've preferred me to the paladin?"

"Yep."

"I...see...this must be oddly specific." The ranger mumbled, trying to stare at the ground. Alas, his body was pinned to the Wall and this was impossible. If he weren't green and covered in moss, he would've probably blushed by now.

"Bishop, you sound weird. Do you have a cold or something?"

"What? No, my voice has always sounded like that!"

"Oh...okay." Suddenly, a thought came into her head, making her grin and look like she got an early Christmas present. She swayed her body to the right, gasping the hilt of her sword and looking around, probably searching for something - her sixth sense had been alarming her ever since she got here.

"What's so funny, wench? Are you laughing at my disfigured body? It's not funny at all?"  
"Well I get to kill you again. If that isn't funny, I don't know what is."

Soon she entered the new portal with a smile on her face. The day had so far been great and even if she hadn't found the Coven yet, all this roaming inside dreams was worth it. If she was lucky, the portal would take her to Casavir so she could make fun of him as well.

_It seems that it's time for me to say "PlEaZe ReEd & ReWiEv" like every self-respecting fanfiction author should do. There, I said it._


	5. Chapter 4

_Tap. _

_Tap-tap._

_Tap-tap-tap._

Quiet sounds carried around Cayla, but she had neither the energy nor the motivation to check where they were coming from. It was probably the rain outside, but it sounded so close... There were other sounds as well, shouts and clangs, probably made by people fighting, distant like echoes coming from another room, another life... Suddenly, somebody grabbed Cayla by the shoulders and shook her – not with the desire to harm her, but to wake her up.

"Are you going to stand like that all day?" someone shouted in her ear, most likely Gann, "Cast a spell, do something!" Then memories flooded her mind, making her limbs feel like soft rubber. Not her head, though – it had always felt like that.

Yes, the battle! They were fighting with the Coven when she must have been hit by something heavy on the head, because all she could remember was a sudden pain, then a dull _'thud!'_ most likely made by her own body hitting the ground. Looking around, she saw Kaelyn cast a spell and at the same time raise a small shield in front of her slender, but heavily-armored frame, in an attempt to protect herself as much as possible from the Coven's attacks. Behind her drifted One of Many, possibly visible only to the sorceress, moving from hag to hag, from victim to victim, sneaking behind the enemies and looking for the best chance to strike without being noticed. And then there was Gann, trying to protect her motionless body from the spells around them with what little spells he had left. Quite a selfless act, though she had no idea why was he doing it.

Unfortunately, one of the hags must've seen an easy victim in her, because she distanced herself from the crowd and started walking slowly towards the spirit eater and her temporary protector, the battle scene like a static background behind her.

Cayla was quite vulnerable at the moment, because she didn't even consider standing up and fighting back as a likely idea. Her brain was working in a different manner than most people would think possible – most of the processes inside it were frozen until someone decided to help her stir them. It was like a big diagram:

1. Think about getting up.

2. Do it.

3. Strike back, though she had no idea how to pass from step one to step two.

The hag had already finished casting the spell and all Cayla could do was...smile at her attacker. And it actually worked, because the dream-invader stopped the frantic movements of her hands and lips and stood there motionless, staring at the sorceress' body. It had worked the same way as it did at the Trial – all Cayla had to do was stand in the middle of the room and smile at the audience. She won, of course, because everyone thought that such a charming and innocent angel could not do such a vile act as harming anyone.

And then... BOOM! The air was filled with so much heat that her lungs started burning and everything turned red.

.:Are you alright, mistress?:. the voice of her pet dispersed itself inside her head.

'Yeah...I think. What happened?'

.: Hellball. Your slave, the shaman, got so panicked that he cast it without thinking about the consequences:.

'Oh...okay then.'

.:Stand still, the cleric is coming to heal you. You might as well lie back and enjoy the scenery of the dozens of bodies next to you. Can't you just smell the blood, the carnage floating in the air?:.

'Yes, and I hope that I can get it off my clothes when we're out of here. I'll probably have to wash them twice.'

.:So you don't enjoy the gore so much, do you:.

'Nah, I like it, but I also happen to like clean clothes.'

Turning her head to the other side, she could see Kaelyn's armored feet near her face. Cayla wasn't very badly injured (aside from the burning lungs, the taste of ash in her mouth and the slight headache) but she still forgot to consider the option of getting up.

Then there was light, the taste of ash ceased to be and someone dragged the sorceress to her feet. About time that happened.

------------------------

The Many have had enough with their new Mistress. Most of them liked her – she gave them freedom to be the evil bastards that they were in life and by doing so she helped them fuel the hate that the Many always felt. And the hate grew stronger and stronger, consuming the souls inside. So they hated her, because that's what they were supposed to feel – the undead can't have feelings like love, because things like that are restricted to the living.

But then again, Malvor the demonspawn hated her guts and he had a reason. The sorceress was always changing, going with the flow and taking whatever life gave her even though she had such potential to become a leader. She needed only one smile to charm armies to fight by her side, she needed only one sway of her body to make empires kneel at her feet and she never realized it. But most of all, she was forgetting who she was, who she was supposed to be and that's what he could never forgive her for. He had to admit that he wasn't like most of the Many – he'd kept memories of his past life, memories of happiness and joy in order to remain the same and not be consumed by the mutual hate the souls around him felt. Because passionate hate clouded one's judgment and when he was alive he couldn't afford that.

The problem is that he, like the rest of the Many, was sane only when he wasn't the one in control of the undead construct. When merging with the undeath, he had no other option than to be whatever he was supposed to be, and Malvor was supposed to be a part of a vengeance machine. The Many gave him strength, they gave him the power and the hate needed to avenge them for what they were in life and what society had done to them. So he forgot about who he wanted to be and did what that mindless girl expected from him to do.

Suddenly... his train of thoughts stopped.

'One, are you there?'

.:No.:.

'Are you lying to me?'

.:No.:.

'Alright then. I just want you to know that we're going to the Wells of Lurue tomorrow. Have fun!'

And with that Cayla strode away. Sometimes he didn't know if she was just plain stupid or pretending to be like that. He sighed... one day he would pay her back for all of this. He'd pay them all back! With a smile like that on his face he could sell ice cubes to the berserkers in Ashenwood. Too bad they were already dead.

------------------

The Wells weren't so bad once you get accustomed to the elementals popping out of thin air every ten seconds. It was quite fun, just like an amusement park but with more dead bodies and insane creatures that wanted to take her gift away, a.k.a. kill her. And the durthans were a nice company, except that their main priorities were having tea parties and hunting spirit eaters. So when she approached them, they didn't recognize her at all – they were too busy drinking tea with biscuits.

"And so I totally told him: I'd rather go out on a date with a telthor berserker than with you! Gag me with a pitchfork!" Said one of them, dramatically waving her hands in the air.

"Nu-uh! As if I'd believe you! Like, there's no way you could decline Mephasm's offer!" Another replied, having a shocked expression on her face, frantically sipping on her tea.

"Ya-uh!" answered the first. "Dontcha, like, believe me?"

"Like, chill ya two, don't have a cow!"

"Cha...whatever!"

"Gals, it seems thet we haf visito's!" interrupted a dwarven lass, apparently not exactly fitting in the small group. The others stood up, probably preparing spells to cast.

"Oh...um...hi. Nice weather isn't it?" interrupted Cayla, who was currently standing between two bushes behind the girls. It wasn't the best hiding spot she could've chosen, but here in the Wells they had no big trees one can climb on and they didn't even have giant rocks one could conveniently hide behind while eavesdropping. No wonder they got panicked, one couldn't spot a normal sized person sitting behind two cat-sized bushes without getting the feeling that something's definitely wrong.

"Who is yo'?" asked the dwarf with the weird accent. Now that the sorceress got a closer look on...it, she wasn't so sure it was female at all. Maybe because of the beard. But because the lawn ornament(.:Racist!:.) was in a female-only company, it must've been female.  
"Err...I'm Cayla. Cayla Meyer. And you are?" She waved a hand in the air, trying to act all friendly. Hopefully, soon the others will find her and get her out of this mess.

"Gag me with a SPOOOON! It's thuh spirit eater! Oh, wow!" almost shrieked one of them, covering her cheeks in her palms.

"Oh my gosh! We're, like, your biggest fans!"

"You are?" Well, that was...confusing.

"Sit here," one of them said and brought a three-legged chair near the large fire. Cayla sat, feeling awkward and trying to stare blankly at the marks and runes on the dusty ground, but when they pushed a tea cup in her hands all of her attempts failed miserably.

"And...um...what are you?"

"We're, like, a society of highly emotional depressed teenager who seek a way out of their miserable lives by makin' infernal bargains with demons and devils. This here is Marinnah, this here is Galathaena, this here is Emotionalia and this here" she pointed at the dwarf, "is Bob. Bob's a little bit shy, but when you get to know her she'll grow on you fast!"

"Um...that's nice, but aren't you supposed to...cut yourself?"

"Nah! That is _soooo_ last week! Us gals are thuh future!"

"I...see."

"So you're our newest friend now, like, wow, Cayla! Gag me with a handfork!"

"Well...alright. So we're all going to be frien..." She couldn't finish as her eyes concentrated on a ghostly shadow that drifted along the rocky road, making dust fly above the ground.

The shadow, possibly One of Many, ended up in the magical circle of runes drawn across the ground, swirling his tentacles in the air, trying to free the space near Cayla and to push all of the witches in one place.

'What are you doing, One?'

.: If the pretty songbird does as she's commanded, she will cast a spell to wound all of your enemies at the same time. And currently, you are too close to them! Do you want to get hurt?:. Her pet sounded angry...angrier than usual.

'But why are you attacking them?'

.:Do you have a brain at all? Wait, don't answer that. They are evil spellcasters who want only to benefit themselves even if that means attacking random people!:.

'So...they're like us?'

She couldn't get her answer because a flash of light blinded her before she could do something to cover her eyes. And in a second, everyone around her was dead, lying in various shapes on the dusty dead-end gorge.

"What did I tell we about wandering off without telling us?" asked a petulant Gannayev next to her.

"And what did _I_tell you about ever talking to me again?" she snarled at him, pointing the sharp edge of her sword in front of his face.

"Uh...nevermindpretendimnothere!" he squeaked, trying to look as small and vulnerable as possible.

.:We have found the tribe we were looking for in the first place. They're several kilometers northeast from here, if we hurry we can get there before sunset.:.

'So...while I was wandering around here you were searching for the tribe and not for me?'

.:Some things come before other things. And you always seem to get lost so there was a chance you were already there or already dead.:.

'How nice of you. I love you too.' The Many had no idea if she was being honest or ironic.

"So, off to the tribe of mysterious people we go!" said Gann, pretending to sound cheerful while hiding behind the Dove.

And then they walked...and walked...and then walked some more. Most of the time for adventuring is spent walking.


	6. Chapter 5

_Hey, first of all, I want to thank everybody for the reviews. And now the new chapter:_

It was a lazy afternoon in what was supposed to be one of the hottest days of the year. Apparently, the weather didn't know that because it was freezing cold – there was ice along the shores of Lake Mulsantir and the villagers assured her that it had always been like that during the summer. Cayla didn't want to know what was winter like in Rashemen.

She was sitting on a big rock in the middle of the snowy plains, right next to the Mulsantir gates. It was quiet here, quieter than it was in the city and the cold stirred her mind and cleared it from all of the fuzz that was there most of the time. So she stood there and dreamed of the future.

'One, what do you want to do when all this is over?' she asked her invisible companion, who was probably behind her. But then again, he was always behind her - one step away from her and oddly enough that didn't give her a reason to fear him.

.:Kill things.:.

'And after that?' Little by little, she was learning that all he wanted to do was end lives.

.:Kill other things.:. Awkward silence ensued. After a couple of minutes, she quietly said:

'You're supposed to ask me what I want to do in the future.'

.:Why?:. She sometimes forgot that the undead don't think like the living any more. It probably had something to do with death. Or maybe she just didn't know this at all.

'Nevermind.'

.:So...what do you want to do when all you're done with Rashemen?:.

'I'm not sure...I'll probably kill Gann, then resurrect him, then kill him again. And after that...maybe I'll return to West Harbor – the village I come from. Will you come with me then?'

.:Where you go, I follow. I am your servant and I'm supposed to do what you want me to do.:.

'Aaaw, thanks! You're really a big sweetheart, even though you don't admit it.' Apparently, she didn't quite catch the part with the slave and the master and the part where One of Many wanted to kill things. But the Many had to admit that aside from them being an undead construct with multiple personalities with the only desire to bring pain to the living, they really were a big huggable puppy.

So she put her palm on his claw, lifted herself from the rock and kissed his cheek. Then she smiled at him and continued to stare at the horizon. It was so white that it made her eyes itch, but she didn't turn her gaze away even then – she probably couldn't realize it was bad for her to continue doing this.

'But maybe...maybe I can become a traveling warrior-lady. I can bring horror and pain to the people all over the world!'

Were those her thoughts? A month ago, she wouldn't have said something like that. But if it wasn't hers...then whose thought was that? Was it the Gift talking or maybe the Many?

.:But mistress...are you sure? Don't you remember the last traveling warrior lady we met?:.

'Oh, her... I remember her, alright. Safiya was still with us then...'

**Dramatic flashback starts in 3...2...1...**

_They were in Ashenwood then. They've had killed the Wood Man and gasping for breath, sitting or lying in the deep snow, watching how the snowflakes fell on their armors,__ on their blades...on their bodies, all covered in blood..._

"_Have no fear, for I am here and I will save you! Kyayayaya!" a sudden yell echoed along the clearing and the hills near it._

"_You're a little bit late, whoever you are." Said dryly Safiya, wiping the snow on her robes._

"_I am Zana, warrior princess and I am here to save this country, for I am good and righteous and__superspecialawesome! Kyayayaya!"_

"_Will you help us fight against the Wall?!" asked Kaelyn with a zealous tone to her voice. The rest ignored her question – they were getting used to that, even though it scared them sometimes._

"_Save this country? From who?" asked Gann in his soft, feminine voice._

"_I shall free this country from the evil spirit eater! I have the power of good and my girlfriend, Gavriela, with me!"_

"_Your what?" interrupter Cayla, seeing how close were the words of the imposter to the beginning of every Wall speech Kaelyn gave them daily._

"_My girlfriend. Is that a problem? Kyayayaya!"_

"_Isn't she kind of...female?"_

"_Yes. But you are not allowed to speak, oh evil one, because I will stop you!" _

"_Sure, whatever...but why are you screaming in the end of every sentence?"_

"_It's a warrior-princess thing, don't pay attention to it. Kyayaya! And now prepare to be killed to death!" the warrior shrieked and took a heroic pose. It really would've been epic if Safiya hadn't interrupted – she started laughing and continued to do so until tears streamed though her face and froze on her nose and her stomach started hurting._

"_Kill her." The wizard said, gasping for air. "Kill her until her speeches kill me."_

"_Sure. __As you wish." Cayla murmured, drawing her sword again and sending a sign to the Many to join the battle._

**Dramatic flashback end****s here.**

That was then and this is now. Overall, Safiya had been a great companion...follower, she corrected herself. Until the Dove scared her away, that is.

'You're right, I definitely don't want to be a warrior lady. But I can still bring pain to the innocent.'

.:Yes! And we together shall bring horror to the living! We shall slay armies, crush empires and eat little children!:. He had to admit, the sorceress didn't need to use violence at all. Just one smile from her and those armies would kill themselves so the last man standing could smile back to her and those empires would crushed themselves if she said so. There wasn't any need to give any arguments at all – the sparkle in her eyes was enough to bring sweet madness to anyone who looked at her. But the girl didn't even realize all of that! She used her charms only to get out of awkward situations. She needed someone to guide her, to tell her what to do! If this was a cheap three-penny novel, a light bulb would've lit on top of the Many's head. Because for the first time in a while, the voices of the Many united in one susurrus, whispering softly to the dominant soul words of treason and deceit. And Malvor the demonspawn now knew what to do with the sorceress.

"Mistress!" a voice echoed from the distance and drifted in the air like a bitter scent, making Cayla's muscles shiver and her Gift stir. The owner was definitely scared and probably running away from something. The panic was so close, so delicious to sense...

She turned around, jumping to the ground and subconsciously taking one of One of Many's tentacles in her hand.

"What is it, child?"

.:Ask him quickly and then feed on him.:.

'Was that a command?'

.:No?:.

'Oh, alright then.'

"Mistress, the big scary lady with the wings sends me to you. She said that there is someone you need to see at the berserker lodge."

"I see. But why are you scared?"

"She...she looked at me with a weird glint in her eyes and...and... she talked scary things about my soul going to...going to rot at some wall...and then she sent me to get you and...is my soul going to decay on some wall, mistress?" There were tears of fear on its eyes and it was shivering, palms on his knees and wet hair on his eyes.

"Yes", was her laconic answer. Her demonspawn friend urged her to draw her sword, cast a spell, feed on the child like the Hill tribe taught her to do.

She needed only one second in order to feel the power of the child's soul, the hidden energy, flowing in his veins. And another second to unleash her hunger and then dispose of the corpse, leaving nothing but heat and sweet scent in the air where its body had once been.

---------------------------

One thing that Cayla was proud about was the color of her skin. It was darker than her hair – which was light chestnut – and most importantly, it had the color of the planks from which the Berserker lodge was made. So she could easily hide there and listen to the words of the newcomer. Irony, she could've sworn that he didn't exist at all – she still thought that her past before the Gift was non-existent. That was one of the reasons the Many hated her – she gave up every detail from her past life she didn't like and a person without a past is a person without pride.

So she listened to the nostalgic words of the pale man and watched him with a dumbfounded expression and he didn't see her at all. Maybe he, too, thought her to be a ghost.

When she arrived, she didn't know what to expect. Kaelyn had been in front of the door, leading to the lodge. She waited patiently even though the expression on her face had shown something a little bit different – apathy to the world she lived in. Gann told the sorceress once that their divine songbird lived in an imaginary world, behind empty walls – it was a concept simple enough for a personal world.

"Here you are." She had spoken with a soft voice and stared into the empty space. After what happened just before they visited the Sunken City, the Dove's eyes had gotten a little disconcerted. "There is a man inside the lodge. He spoke your name, your title. Perhaps you know him."

"Err...thanks for telling me?" it was more of a question than a statement - Cayla didn't know what was expected from her.

"Go inside, speak with him. Maybe that way you can gain inner strength to face your past and thus to face your future." One of the things the sorceress hated about Kaelyn was the fact that the Dove always spoke with riddle. Aside from the Wall speeches, actually.

And now Cayla was inside and she didn't know what to do. It wasn't a joke anymore – when she had faced Bishop and Zha...Zhji.., Zhjah...the Z-person, to her it was just a way to pass time. She didn't take them seriously, because they were just ghosts, a part of her imagination.

But this ghost here...was more real than the others.

"Hey, Cayla, that you? I can barely see you, your skin actually merges with the planks." It was one of the berserkers whose name she always forgot. They all had weird names like Vladimir or Andrei and pronouncing them was impossible for her. "We have a new visitor here. He thinks himself to be a great storyteller, but listening to him is quite boring." The barbarian patted her shoulder and pushed her into the wall of people. "The only thing he talks about is that Old Owl Well thingy. Can you make him stop? It's very annoying and if he doesn't cease that we'll be forced to rend him unconscious."

After a couple of minutes, spent in awkward silence and staring, she finally gained the courage to speak.

"Oh...um...hello, Casavir. Been a long time, huh?"

And the voices of the Many exploded into her head. It sounded as if they were jealous of the imposter who prided himself to be Cayla's friend. After all, how could he be?

And for the first time in his un-life, the demonspawn who was currently in control of the Many, realized that they didn't know what to do. They didn't know what they wanted! When she created them, the obvious step was to make her believe they are her only friend, the only one she could really trust. And they had succeeded. The second step was to make her evil, because that was the right thing to do. And they were trying hard and it seemed that she was giving up, giving in to the pressure of her dearest of friends and her servant. But what then? What would happen after that?

And now the person she thought to trust the most had entered her life again. The Many were scared from the unknown. They were a good servant and because of that, they had checked her memories of the past life Cayla had. From what they'd learned, she was just a confused little child who didn't know what to do and then the paladin showed up, gave her something to live for – he gave her a path in life she could follow. So she became kind, generous and helpful and when Casavir disappeared, the sorceress lost her path.

So the most obvious thing to do was to dispose of the paladin. Otherwise, their Mistress wouldn't be so open to manipulation and what would happen to the Many then?

"My lady?! I have been searching for you for months on end! Where have you been!?" How dare he speak like that to her, the Many spoke in one voice. He was speaking like a parent to an irresponsible child who had stolen a cookie from the jar. But in the end, he slept with her even though he prided himself to be like a father to her. So, the brave and courageous paladin didn't know what to be or how to act either!

"It's hard to believe, trust me. But it doesn't matter now" she smiled.

And when he tried to hug her, the Many attacked him.

-----------------------------

'How could you!' she screamed, sending the thought to him.

.:It was the right thing to do, Mistress.:. Actually, it had been the most primal thing to do. A swing of a tentacle, a claw in his muscled back and he had ceased to be. It was easier this way, even though it had made Cayla very angry. Soon, she would forget about that like she forgot about everything else from her past life.

'He was my friend...my lover...and you killed him!'

.:He was, I don't deny this. But did you even think about him while we were traveling from one part of Rashemen to another?:.

'I...didn't. But that doesn't matter!'

.:He's just a ghost that returns to haunt you! You've found your way of living now and he could only hold you back!:. The demonspawn knew that she would just give up the argument. Forgive and forget and not because she had a good heart – in the end, she just didn't care about anything at all.

'I guess you're right. It's not worth the drama.' And with those words she took one of his claws in her palm and walked to the Veil theater, ready for another adventure.


	7. Chapter 6

_B__efore the real chapter, I have some rambling to do. _

_First, I've changed the rating to M for..some reasons. I'm not exactly sure what reasons exactly, except that MotB should've been rated to M as well. I mean, you're playing a spirit-eater – you cavort around Rashemen eating people's souls just for fun! So M rating is it and any criticism will be accepted and thought over._

_Second, __Today is a very special day for me - it's been exactly six months since I bought MotB. And met Gann. This makes today the official "Humiliate Gann" day, at least for me. So __I would like to warn you that this chapter involves Gann having problems with a tentacled monster. You're all probably thinking "OHMAGAWD, tentacle pr0n"! Well guess again. He's not exactly having a tea party with it, but it's not__ that either._

_So, have fun!_

* * *

It was question time.

Usually people don't have the habit of asking the right questions. Rarely, there is the time for things such as "What am I?" and "What am I doing here?" but these queries usually stand aside in order to give more space to stuff like "What are we going to have for dinner?" and "What's the time?" Still, even though those questions seem deeply philosophical, they are not enunciated correctly. One shouldn't ask what is he, but WHY is he – because one couldn't be anything but himself, but why is he devised in such a manner is something elusive and unclear. But for such a..simple creature as Cayla, those askings, simple or not, were all the same.

'One, how did you become undead?' she asked her servant, while lying on a bed inside one of the rooms in the Veil theater.

.:I died.:

'How?'

.:I got killed.:

'Oh..it must've been really.. – if her inner dictionary contained words with more than five letters in them, she would've used 'dreadful' - ..bad.'

.:If you really must know, I don't remember how I got killed. The minds of the undead work in a different manner than the minds of the living.

'I..see. Is there a way for you to remember how you died?'

.:No.:

'Really?'

.:Well..no.: He sighed deeply and waved a tentacle dramatically in the air, trying to show how annoyed he was. It didn't work - the sorceress rarely understood anyone's hints. .:We..the souls of the Many..remember more details about their lives when we are not the dominant soul. So you must simply switch me with the Child or the Brute, then share a vision with me.:

'Share a..what?'

.:A vision. Try to go to sleep, but while doing it, connect yourself with the hive mind of the Many. After that, it would be simple enough to find me.:

He lied, of course. It would be simple enough for anyone with an IQ above room temperature to do this. But for a person like Cayla, things were bound to screw up. Because she had forgotten about Gannayev.

It was Gann's fault – the shaman had been trying to enter her dreams for a long time, but something had always stopped him – a dark presence inside her mind that prevented him from merging her thoughts with his own. Until now, when she tried to enter the mind of another creature, letting her defenses down for him.

So three minds were fused into one in order to share one single dream. It was going to be a long night..

The fiend had been right – it was simple enough for her to enter his little haven inside the Many. When she found him, he was sitting..well, floating in mid-air as he always did. So she hugged him, interrupting his meditation and he had no other option but to hug her back, because his Mistress should get what she wants. It was a basic instinct, following her orders. And then he sensed another presence inside the Many – not Cayla but the shaman, trapped inside the circle of another soul.

"You promised to tell me how you died. Remember?" she asked, chin propped on his shoulder.

"I believe we have bigger problems than this. Your friend the shaman is trapped here as well."

"Gann could bother a tentacled monster, for all I care. Now tell me!" she demanded.

"Very well then. A long time ago when I was still alive, I guarded traveling merchants from Kara-Tur to Rashemen and Thesk. It was a long road and we encountered bandits daily, so I got good money out of it and nobody paid any attention to my horns and wings as long as I protected my employers and their wares. But..once I overestimated my powers. I got killed near Mulsantir. However, most people in these lands aren't allowed to rest even after they die." Watching the puzzled expression on her face, he sighed, then stood up and started pacing nervously around her.

"The rashemi are rather..superstitious. They believe in spirits because they have to believe in something and the telthor spirits exist only because somebody believes in them. They are nothing but a hollow shell, forced to _be_..for somebody needs them. Do you see the power of beliefs now?"

"Yes, but how does that.. she tried to ask him, but got interrupted.

"I'll get to that, don't worry. As I was saying, faith has powers here in Rashemen. And I thought myself to be invulnerable. Immortal. With beliefs like these, I was bound to become a spirit after I die. And I did, but soon after that something begun to pull me to enter the city. As you can guess..well, as someone with an IQ above 7 can guess, it was the Forge. As a spirit, I entered the temple of Myrkul and got trapped in a mass of souls. And after that, I think you know the tale."

"So I could doom someone..lets say Gann, to an endless zombified existence of pain and hollowness just by believing he can't die?"

"Hmm..yes, I think you can. But it has to be a strong belief anyway."

"Well..wow. Now I know what to do if he tries to enter my dreams again. But about your story.. I expected something more..heroic. With dragons and maidens and stuff."

"Silly little gi.. he tried to tell her. But stupid people are unpredictable and Cayla had had enough talking for one day, so she kissed him, using his horns as handles. And she would've continued with something more rash and aggressive, but got interrupted by a wave of energy. She could've sworn she could feel it, taste it..and it had the scent and flavor of death and decay.

"What just happened?" she asked him, pretending not to notice his horrified expression.

"Do..do you remember what you said about Gann and a tentacled monster?"

* * *

"So you're saying that he's entered the world..um..the cage of the local ancient god H..Hm .. tell me how is that pronounced again?

"H'mq'harkf'tyfd."

"I..see. And if we don't get him out fast he's going to get killed?"

"Yes."

"You know..now that I think of it, we're not in a hurry. Maybe before we go to rescue him we could drink a cup of tea, play some Monopoly, discuss our relationship..stuff like that."

She had uttered the magic word: "relationship". With shivers running across his spine and a furious blush, he blurted out:

"We should get him out! NOW!"

"Fine, fine. Just chill." She patted his broad and rather purplish shoulders, as if to calm him down. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"Your friend could die and then join the Many."

"Oh..

"Yeah, 'oh'. Now do you see why we should get him out?"

"Perhaps. But how can we exactly?"

"It's rather simple. All you need to do is to think of your friend, then of us and imagine us moving towards him."

"One..did I mishear you or did you just say "us"? She said with a wicked grin across her face, one hand on his back.

"Err..no?"

"Spoilsport." Sadly enough, she expected him to fight back, protest a little so she could tease him and see him blush, because Cayla thought him to be cute when blushing. She had this behavior as a habit, because she could do it mechanically and no brain-cells were required for it.

So she imagined them, then that shaman and then..she felt lighter..before she landed on solid ground and her perfect nose hit the floor.

The Many usually don't travel like that. Most of the souls can't do this, but as their Mistress, Cayla had power over them - her own little heaven when she was ubiquitous. Another reason for the lack of traveling is that the place that one soul of the Many inhabits is completely different from the habitat of another. So if, lets say, Malvor the Fiend preferred mysterious places with the lack of a floor underneath him, the ancient and mysterious tentacled monster with an unpronounceable name preferred his haven to look like a giant, abandoned temple, located in a jungle.

Behind one moss-covered column, Gann was hiding from something. They weren't sure what was he hiding from, but at least they could guess. The cages of the Many aren't exactly crowded.

And then they saw it. Floating around the columns and stairways, a deformed mass with octopus-like features appeared not to notice them at all.

"He looks a little bit like you, you know?" Cayla told her puppy. She wasn't trying to make a joke – people like her usually don't have a sense of humor.

"What? I have no idea what you're talking about! He is slimy, has tentacles and is covered with rotting flesh!"

"No need to get so defensive, hon. In real life, you too have gooey tentacles and long, skinny claws that are covered by rotting dead skin. Not to mention that you have the habit of drifting in the air with the grace of a wet towel – just like him..err, it. Also, your breath smells."

"But that's because the Many are undead! I'm supposed to be like that!" Being angry at her, the demon didn't acknowledge the fact Cayla used two sophisticated sentences one after another.

"So is he, I guess."

When she started walking towards Gann (without paying any thoughts to what she was doing. It was more of an instinct that the pure desire to help him.) she could've sword she heard the half-fiend murmuring.

".and my breath doesn't smell. Stupid human."

Before she could answer that, the shaman noticed her. He was kneeling before that, back propped up on a column, but when he recognized her he stood up with palms on his knees and ran to her. Gann's face was flushed, something not exactly pleasant to look upon when one's skin is blue, and his clothes were mostly torn apart(in a manner that made him look even more charming and not like a dirty, grubby peasant who has just returned from cleaning the pig's den, mind you).

"You've got to help me! It's..it's..it's after me!" Gannayev screamed, his fingers getting a tight grip on her wrists.

"What's after you?" Cayla asked, a clueless expression painted on her face.

Her slave, the demon-spawn, had forgotten about the way normal people think. Things like annoyance and happiness were distant to him, all of them drowning under the sea of primal hate that is so typical for all undead species. But now he was really annoyed at the stupid questions those two mortals were asking and he had a good reason for that. They were just so..pointless, because the answers were right in front of them! There were only the three of them and the ancient god that were inside the cage, so who could really be chasing Gannayev if not the floating pile of tentacles? Besides, screaming would just draw him to them.

But he didn't bother to speak that aloud, because he'd drive some sort of twisted pleasure by watching them deal with the god later.

And then..suddenly a tentacle grabbed Gannayev's foot. It was a rather stupid thing to do, because there were areas one could grapple more successfully and the victim couldn't free itself so easily. But the shaman showed a specific lack of intellect again and didn't fight back; instead he tried to grab something on the floor in order to pull himself away from the monster. Perhaps he was expecting the others to free him. And their jolly little group thought Cayla to be the stupid one..  
"What? Why are you looking at me like that, One?" The sorceress asked her 'puppy', ignoring Gann's agonizing screams.

"Nothing. But if he dies, he would join the Many, you know?"

"Well what do you expect me to do?"

"Save him."

"Why?" She asked, the clueless expression stuck on her face again. He sighed - just as he thought there is some hope for her to learn something from he, she seemingly shattered all of his illusions.

"Do you want him to join the Many?" Gritting his teeth and folding his palms in tight fists, the fiend wondered why wasn't he allowed to hit his mistress. Hard. On her oh-so-perfect face. After all, it would be rather edifying for her and very pleasurable for him. So, why not?

"Some help here?" Gann was screaming from the very bottom of his lungs now.„PLEASE?!

"Oh Gann, watch out for the tentacles!" Cayla yelled at him, trying (unsuccessfully) to make fun of him. Well, he really had to watch out for them..

_Hey, look! It's the Censorship Panda. Say hello to the Censorship Panda, guys and girls, while Gann is having problems with the nasty monster. Hello, mr. Panda!_

"There..there goes my sanity." She barely whispered, shocked from what she had just seen.

"You had one? I've had no idea."

"Very funny, puppy."

"It was, wasn't it?"

"Hmm..yeah, I guess."

After an awkward period of silence, filled with staring, she managed to mumble:

"He seems to be enjoying this, right?"

"Well you'd better get him out now, lest he decides he likes our new friend and wants to visit him every now and then."

"I guess you're right. Still, I have one more reason to make fun of him."

"I'm very happy for you, now 'save' him."

Humans these days were perfectly useless, he thought while watching her run into the distance and nuke the giant monster of a god.

* * *

"Now what, brave and honorable leader?" Gann asked Cayla, three days after the "Noodle incident", while she was lying next to the shore of Mulsantir river, staring blankly at the sky.

He had been pretending that nothing happened there, lest she decides to make fun of him. So whenever he couldn't afford not to say something to her, he asked things about their mission in order to distract her.

"Well..One says that according to my visions from the magic pool of Whatsthename and the one I had under the giant rock, the Red Woman from my dreams was Akachi's girlfriend. So we must go and check it out." It was fairly simple for her, because she didn't understand a thing from the plan One of Many gave her.

"Go where?"

"To Thay. Prob'ly to Safiya's old school, they're just bound to know something about that. Also, I want to see her."

"Well if you don't want her to turn into a raving lunatic again, I guess you shouldn't bring the Dove."

"Yeah. But Gann, I have something I want to ask you about..

"Oh, is that a beautiful farmer's daughter I see on the other side of the road?"

"Wha..

"I SAID, is that a beautiful and seemingly innocent farmer's daughter I see on the other side of the road?"

"Gann, we're near the river. How could you see someone on the other side of the road when there is no road?"

"Whoops, I meant river. Excuse me while I swim to the other side. It'll probably make me look more dashing, cause my hair looks good when I'm wet."

With that, he jumped into the water. So, their next destination was going to be Thay and then preferably someplace quiet and without any hagspawn there.

Without having any seer-like powers, Cayla could predict that her future will involve lots of walking. As always.

_OK, I lied about the tentacles.__ But Gann deserves all of this._


	8. Chapter 7

Gannayev of Dreams lay on the ground in the grasslands he had created. It was fairly simple for him to do that – because all of it was in his dreams, both unreal and real at the same time, but he preferred to think that it was as real as anything he saw and felt when he was awake. So he paid no attention to the blurry edges and annoyingly bright colors. Here he could be anything he wanted to be and the wine didn't make hum drunk as it would do in real life. He had been...thinking in the last few days – always changing thoughts in a whirlwind of ideas and memories – not quite sure when one idea passed and another took its place. Gann wasn't sure what was so disturbing to him either but it provoked powerful feelings inside him, making him shiver with every gust of wind and every snowflake on his shoulders. It was rather...unpleasant, though he fancied the idea that another side to him had awoken, because depth meant power and...oh, the things he could do with that power...

And then he felt another presence inside his dreams. Someone alive, someone so alive and filled with energy that the sheer power of his or her power was making Gann's skin tingle. He had no idea how he or she had gotten into his dreams, but his curiosity left no place for fear or doubts.

Someone female, he hoped. Or maybe male. It didn't matter much to him. He searched for beauty, no matter what form it took.

"Oh, radiant creature, welcome to my heaven." He had a smug look and a smirk on his face. "Here I can give you anything you desire, you can be everything you want! Welcome, oh bright one, I hope that you will grace me with..." he started talking to the creature that was probably right behind his back – Gann could feel the soft breath on his hair.

"Shut up before I kill you." The voice told him, exhaling the words so slowly that the warm air between his hairs made the shaman's skin tingle. That was, until he realized that the voice belonged to a man.

"Oh, excuse me, I though you were..." he couldn't finish as the creature interrupted him. Gann wasn't so sure what it was, because the voice echoed all over his haven and he was too fascinated with the idea of someone so powerful here that he didn't even turn around to see who was standing behind him.

"Listen, I really don't have time for this. I'm going to count to three. If you don't make some chairs and a table appear, I'm going to kick you where it hurts the most. One..."

"Alright, alright, just calm down, whoever you are. Here they are." He sighed and seated himself in one of the comfortable chairs only to see that his interlocutor was two meters high, not counting the horns.

"Well...you do seem familiar" Wrinkling his forehead, his eyes started roaming around the face of the unknown man. "Ah, yes, I saw you back the haven of the giant...tentacled..." he gulped here, face paling.

"I know. I wanted to speak with you, spawn of hags."

"Giant...tentacles...err...excuse me. But you haven't even introduced yourself, stranger."

"Whatever. My name is Malvor. And I have a proposition for you."

"Ah, and what might that be, oh handsome one?"

"What?"

"Are you denying that you are, in fact, handsome? In my lifetime, I have rarely seen anyone so charming. It's probably the horns, their perfect shape..." Trying to drag a finger on the horns, Gann found his wrist to be incapable of moving any more. He got pushed back by the fiend.

"First of all, yeah, I am denying it. And second...I had no idea you swayed that way. Uh...I'm going to back away a little now..." There was a moment of awkward silence, while the fiend got up from the comfortable chair and took a few steps back.

"So, my dashing friend of curt words, what are you going to propose? If it is what I think it is..."

"Nope. It has to do something to do with Cayla." Seeing how the eyebrows of the shaman rose(and if they had risen any more, they would've just flown away in mid-space), he continued to explain. "See...when you entered the world of the Many, Cayla said that you could go bother a tentacled monster, for all she cares. And...you did." Malvor paused here for a while, just to add some dramatic tension.

"I have a theory. Cayla is very powerful, as we can all see. But where are the limits of her power? In a place like Rashemen, where beliefs shape life, she could be...a god!"

"I fail to see your point here, handsome." Gann turned the chair into a sofa, putting his foot on the elbow-rest, all that while trying to look seductive.

"I think that Cayla imagined the god of many tentacles. I know that I have always known there is such a god in the Many...but what is "always"? Maybe she imagined that it has always been here. She has strong beliefs and an utter lack of any logical thinking – for her, beliefs shape the world around her. And it seems...it seems this way she can shape the world of others as well."

"So?"

"I want to see how powerful she is and if she really can do all these things with the world around her. And I want you to find out."

"Me? Oh, my dearest friend, how could I find out about this if you can't? Or do you admit that you find me superior to yourself?"

"I can grant you permission into her dreams. Then you enter it. You are an adept when it comes to dreams and you can see what is hidden in them. You can...control them. Most of them, actually. See if you can control _her_ dreams, that is all I ask.

"And in return I get...?"

"The opportunity to explore Cayla's dreams, of course."

"I'm going to...think about this. I'll let you know when I make my decision. What do you say?"

The fiend didn't say anything in return. He just disappeared from Gannayev's haven, leaving the slightest scent of brimstone behind.

Truth to be told, Malvor didn't need Gann's help. It was just an experiment in order to be one hundred percent sure. He already knew how powerful the former Knight-Captain was. She could shape things – almost like an illusionist, the only thing different was that she could make those things _real_. And she was so naïve! The half-fiend could make her do anything, all he needed in order to do that was put words in her head, words that she would believe in. While she was indeed charismatic – it came with being a sorceress, probably – and with her charm she could make others do her biddings, her...shaping of the world around her didn't stop here.

One of Many had ambitions. They were yet to take shape - they were still just ambitions of control, but control of whom he did not know. He was certain he had them, though. He loved them. And because Cayla was the way of making those ambitions real, he fell in love with her one he realized this. It was a weird, twisted kind of love, not devoted to the flesh but to the idea – but it was love none the less.

* * *

Those funny bald men in red robes were fun to kill. They pretended to be masters of the arcane, but in the end, they all died a horribly funny dead. That is, if turning their bodies inside out could be considered funny. Or turning them into frogs. Pink frogs. Or destroying half of their academy with fireballs and watching how they burn, all that while Cayla laughed with an insane glint in her eyes.

"Why are you...laughing? Actually, what are you doing here? I left you in Rashemen." The bald lady in red robed seemed familiar...but all bald tattooed ladies look the same.

.:Pssst, this is Safiya, the red wizard you traveled with a long time ago!:. The Many whispered in her ear, though that was uncalled for – he could only speak to her in her thoughts.

'How long?'

.:It doesn't matter! Speak to her! Errr...two months, maybe two and a half.:.

'It wasn't that long ago... Why are you looking at me like that?' She gave up after half a minute of awkward staring at the Many.

"Ahahah! Ahahahah! Err...pay no attention to the cackle, it's a sorceress thing. What I mean to say was: hello, bald lady! I decided to pay you a visit, see how things are going on with you. So, how are? Anything interesting lately?" Cayla asked the wizard while devouring the soul of a nearby woman in red robes. She could turn her remains into butterflies later. Butterflies were nice.

"Aside from you destroying MY academy, nothing. Why...why are you doing this?" She wasn't surprised that the sorceress was happy when she was obliterating something, but she though her to be a friend.

"Oh...it's fun."

"What she meant to say" Kaelyn interrupted the sorceress "was that she is taking vengeance again those who unjustly slew your mother. And after that you could join us in our crusade against the Wall."

"WHAT?! Listen, don't get the wrong idea. Assassinations in the Thayan academies are something normal. We have several of them every week. It's just something you know it's going to happen and you expect it – kind of like an early birthday party, but without the hangover in the morning." Safiya sighed and took a step back, lest her former friend decides frying her would also be fun.

"Ah, my dear, so you are taking the death of your mother fine?" Asked Gann with his smooth and feminine voice, while trying to put out the magical fire. "Don't answer that, it wasn't a question." Spending months on end with Cayla made him add the last sentence – it was a form of evolution, communicating in a normal way with those who lacked brain cells.

.:This is a way of thinking the Many could admire. Can we keep her, Mistress? Can we? Can we?:.

"Uh...sure, One. Safiya, you're coming with us." Cayla smiled, as if taking hostages from the crime scene was something completely normal to do.

"Do I HAVE a choice?"

"Well, not really. So, coming?"

"I already said I was. Why do you have to ask twice?"

"I...er...oh, shut up or your soul will be next. I probably don't mean this, but you're supposed to be intimidated anyway." Cayla smiled again, nothing psychotic in her smile this time. It worked. It always worked. When you have an IQ of negative numbers, you have to be creative or one morning you wake up and you realize you're dead. Or something like that.

.:Being dead is not that bad, Mistress. You can even join the Many, if you want. Then we wouldn't have someone to control us and we will be free to spread agony and pain in this world.:.

'Don't you...already do that kind of things?' It was a real achievement for her, talking while walking in a straight line in that long, horribly painted corridor.

.:Yes, but it's not that fun when we know we are supposed to obey someone's orders of spreading agony and torment.:.

'If I pretend that my orders are to be good and pet random kittens, will you feel better?'

.:Well, yes.:. The Many were probably blushing right now, but she couldn't be sure because she couldn't see the face behind the hood.

'Good. Now go pet that cute little puppy that is right in front of us, my minion' She winked at him.

.:Err...that is a pit fiend.:.

'What's the difference?'

.:I...see. You were being metaphorical, Mistress.:.

'What's...meta-pa-horical?' Cayla had that weird clueless expression painted on her face.

.:Oh, never mind then. I don't want to know.:.

"Ah, my charming and dashingly brave leaver, are we going to stand here all day, staring at the spawn of the Abyss, or are we going to fight it?" She probably didn't notice the moment she had stopped – her brain probably got exhausted from doing two things at the same time – both thinking and walking - and decided on its own that it should probably stop doing one of the said things.

"Gann...?"

"Yes?"

"Did I ever give you permission to speak to me ever again?"

"No?"

"And what did I tell you about starting your sentences with 'ah'?

"That you're going to kill me, resurrect me, then drink my soul, reanimate my empty shell and use it as a table?"

"Mmm...yes. So shut up, I'm in a good mood – probably comes from killing bald tattooed funny people – so don't spoil it. Else I'll really do it."

He gulped, not answering that one. There wasn't much to answer anyway.

* * *

"Oh, Akachi, is that you? I knew you would come to me in the end!" The bald lady who looked just like Safiya – and any other woman in the academy – tried to hug Cayla and got pushed back by the Many.

"Err...what?"

"It is you, Akachi!"

"Lady, I'm not Akachi. I'm a woman. You're currently staring at my chest anyway, so I guess you can see that."

"Ah, and what a magnificent chest that is!" Gann exclaimed, trying to put a hand on her shoulder. It got pushed away by the Many. Luckily, Cayla didn't notice that he had said anything at all, otherwise she would've stopped paying attention to the old red-robed crone.

"What? You perverted shell of a woman! Don't you interrupt me while I'm speaking to my long lost love Akachi!" The red lady snapped back at her. The red wizard ladies were probably clones and they all looked exactly the same, Cayla decided.

"You have...named my chest Akachi? Well that is...oddly specific, I guess."

"No, no, no! In your wound from the shard, I have implanted Akachi's soul. You were powerful enough to handle the soul and you had a Destiny! You were the perfect person for me to use as a shell for my boyfriend." It seemed that the red wizard got angry, because she pouted at the sorceress and started looking as if she was expecting something.

"I...heeey, wait a minute? Where is Safiya anyway? I though she was supposed to be with us?"

Kaelyn calmly tried to explain and that was rather surprising for the motley cru - throughout their journey she barely spoke of anything except the Wall:

"You traded her to the pit fiends in order to get that soul of a friend you wanted. Though we didn't return to give that friend of yours his soul, remember? And...she looked as if she wanted to leave us...she started looking distressed ever since I tried talking to her about the holy mission we have."

"Oh...sure..." Cayla agreed with the Dove(lest she tries to give another Wall speech when she realizes someone is paying attention to her), though the sorceress didn't remember that at all - she didn't usually remember anything that she considered to be unimportant.

.:You should get whatever information you can from the Founder – she was the closest one to the thing that is now your spirit eater gift. Bluff her into doing it.:. And so she did, though before doing it she realized that One of Many was trying to hold her hand. Kinky.

"So...uh, can you remind me the details of how Aka...err, I became a spirit-eater?" That was the best persuasion she could do – she usually relied on the charming smile to do the persuading and she succeeded again in doing it.

_3 hours later_

"...and this is how I implanted you into the body of this girl. I couldn't find a man good enough for your soul, but I love you no matter how you look. So, wanna go to the movies? They probably have "The Beauty and the Spirit Eater" right now, we can catch it if we hurry!"

"Uh...I've got to go, sorry. I've got to tear down the Wall and get my soul out of it– I kind of liked it before you send it there."

Ignoring the fact how Kaelyn started cheering from behind her, Cayla gripped the hilt of her sword and prepared to get rid of the boring, pesky lady with the long-winded speeches. Before she could do it, One of Many placed a tentacle on hew shoulders and sent his thoughts to her:

.: Don't you think she deserves something worse? When you tear down the Wall and devour Kelemvor's soul she will be free anyway. :.

'What are you suggesting, hon?'

.:Will her out of existence. You can do that, you are powerful enough.:.

'Will her? What are you, nuts? My will score is abysmal, I can barely make myself to get out of bed in the morning! There is absolutely no way you can persuade me into doing this!'

She was wrong, of course. She was usually wrong in her assumptions – whenever she made them, anyway, and that didn't happen every day...or month... Surprisingly enough, The Many kissed her. His tentacles got wrapped around her limbs and she felt that odd feeling of having ghostly fudge in her mouth again. Then the words and thoughts started flooding in and after a couple of seconds she started to consider them her own – the few brain cells she had didn't resist them and after all, they were in her head – so they must've been her own all the time. In fact, she had always wanted to make the Founder suffer. The little bits of Akachi protested while she concentrated on the red wizard...

And the Founder was no more.


End file.
